11 February 2019

From Monday 11 February to Sunday 17 February, University
Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust and colleagues at Unity
Sexual Health Centre are campaigning to raise awareness of the
importance of practising safe sex for people of all ages,
backgrounds and sexualities.

Wearing protection and practising safer sex is an easy and
effective way to guard against the spread of sexually transmitted
infections (STIs). The campaign is focusing on this and encouraging
people to wrap up this winter in more ways than one!

In 2017 the rate of new STI diagnoses in Bristol was 1,011 per
100,000 people, higher than the national average of 794 per 100,000
people*. This, combined with the fact that Bristol has a relatively
young and ethnically diverse population as well as an active
lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) scene, means that sexual
health is a priority for healthcare providers throughout
Bristol.

The diagnosis rate is not just reflective of increased infection
in the area; it is also in part due to improved testing in the
local area. Unity Sexual Health Centre offers a free and
confidential service for residents of Bristol, North Somerset and
South Gloucestershire. The service is open to people of all ages,
backgrounds, ethnicities, and sexualities and it allows people to
ask questions and raise concerns about their sexual health with
trained medical professionals.

"Practising safe sex is so important to not only the medical
health of individuals and the area, but to a person's mental and
emotional wellbeing. Through this campaign, we're hoping to raise
awareness both of the importance of practising safer sex and the
service that Unity offers to the people of Bristol and the local
area. Talking about sexual health can often be a sensitive and
difficult topic, but at Unity, the people of Bristol have a free
and confidential resource to help ensure they can have an active
and healthy sex life."